Posts by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
(DIR) Post #ATBuI7TvMPR2s4O2sa by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-02-28T21:08:52Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I do Postcrossing and just got a postcard from a software developer in Ukraine. His message really hits home for me. He and I both do pretty much the same thing when at work. But it's sobering to be reminded that my days never involve hiding from rockets.https://www.postcrossing.com/#ukraine
(DIR) Post #AUXjgiZZqEY0f45ABs by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-04-11T12:52:21Z
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@galdor : I liked your post about ielm, but I'm wondering what you do to *search* your history. My muscle reflex is to do what my shell (bash) does and use C-r; do you have a keybinding for searching the ielm history you're now storing?(For context: https://www.n16f.net/blog/making-ielm-more-comfortable/)#emacs #lisp #ielm
(DIR) Post #AY9ekgpx3HhwYHBXjU by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-07-24T11:36:18Z
1 likes, 0 repeats
I dreamed about using #emacs and #orgmode. I even remember the specific thing I was trying to do:You have a top-level heading, and you want to cut it and paste it (or, to use classic emacs terminology, kill and yank) under a lower-level heading elsewhere.If you just copy and paste, putting the higher-level heading into the lower-level one will mess up the structure below it. My dreaming self wanted to avoid that.Now my waking self is answering the question. 😄 You can use M-x org-paste-subtree directly; or, you can just use a regular C-y to yank and if you have the variable org-yank-adjusted-subtrees*whew* glad I figured that out. I guess my subconscious is deeply concerned about this problem...This has been your oneiric org-mode public service announcement for today...
(DIR) Post #AYDuveOCrrT22sIOfY by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-07-30T11:57:38Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
"Algorithms are to bias what centrifuges are to radioactive ore: a way to turn minute amounts of bias into pluripotent, indestructible toxic waste."Brilliant quote from @pluralistic in https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/26/dictators-dilemma/. Training a machine learning algorithm is a very conservative act: it starts from the training data -- the past -- and presumes that's precisely what you want in the future. So it's conservative in several senses: conserving past observations/data; making the future just like the past, and so on.If that training data is good, and conserving past behavior is really and truly what you want, this is great!But, wait: what does "good" mean? And who decides what we really and truly "want"?Required reading, in my not-at-all humble opinion, is "Data Feminism": https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu. My biggest criticism of their book is the title, which can mislead you into thinking it's somehow specific to gender-related issues, but it addresses bias of all kinds, and how we, as a society, use algorithms.
(DIR) Post #AYDuvgx1LOVHzQbEDA by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-07-30T12:59:21Z
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@pluralistic Also, required reading: Cathy O'Neil's "Weapons of Math Destruction": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_Math_DestructionThat came out in 2016, but it's (1) still super, super relevant; and (2) would be great to see an update reflecting the current hype with AI and large language models.
(DIR) Post #AYlgfRyJxIyqqEgn8y by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-08-15T10:59:21Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Inspired by @ramin_hal9001: my #emacs tip of the week:Use the :custom directive in use-package declarations instead of setq in :config!https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/use-package/User-options.htmlInstead of something like :config (setq foo "some value")You can do :custom (foo "some value" nil nil"comment about setting 'foo' to 'some value'")The manual says "This is better than using setq in a :config block, as customizable variables might have some code associated with it that Emacs will execute when you assign values to them."
(DIR) Post #AajXcGWWKN3mWyLsu0 by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-10-13T14:10:27Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
That moment when you've messed up your emacs configuration so bizarrely that you need to use vim to edit your init.el...#emacs #vim #tgif
(DIR) Post #Abb9QZCBcAOMyxmHhY by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-11-08T13:39:59Z
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@Wolven as a Wisconsin resident, I'm frustrated to see yet another Midwest state legalize cannabis. Right now, MN and IL are getting this free tax revenue boost from all my fellow Wisconsinites driving across the border. Call me greedy, but I want that money to stay here and support my schools, roads, etc etc....
(DIR) Post #AbbErihSsubo38Av1E by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-11-08T14:41:06Z
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@Woven@ourislandgeorgia.net a state initiative might work -- but keep in mind that we have a state legislature that has been gerrymandered to the hilt for Republican control. They would likely be able to quash any effort for a statewide ballot initiative. 😦
(DIR) Post #Ac53yQohl5AxUloQc4 by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-11-22T22:26:42Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I use just a couple little things from the #emacs Hyperbole package, but it...is weird and I just don't get the overall Hyperbole system. It messes with other things in emacs for me. I wanted to replace the cool "implicit buttons": the things you just put inside { } or < > and hit M-RET on to evaluate.If all you care about is org-mode, I figured out a nice way to do that!https://emacs.stackexchange.com/questions/79586/how-to-replace-hyperbole-implicit-action-buttons-with-equivalent-org-mode-functi/79587#orgmode
(DIR) Post #AdMZ9aHvchrTJYoP2m by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2023-12-30T14:51:09Z
1 likes, 8 repeats
I'm absurdly excited to learn that 2024 = 2³+3³+4³+5³+6³+7³+8³+9³....and it's because:2025 = 45², and45=1+2+⋯+9, and(1+⋯+𝑛)²=1³+⋯+𝑛³ !Via https://www.reddit.com/r/math/comments/18tr14a/2024_2³3³4³5³6³7³8³9³/.#math #newyear #newyear2024
(DIR) Post #Ahe7waX2Vxu6EmywkK by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2024-05-07T11:20:25Z
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@stux my washing machine needs to take lessons from that machine. If there's a couple towels in it, my washing machine on its spin cycle seems determined to shake itself across my basement.
(DIR) Post #AtfGWPuJ7SBcDOIJl2 by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2025-05-01T20:38:17Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
When an erstwhile software developer attends a protest...(Please no comments on the typography...I know a proper coding typeface should be monospace, especially for Python, but if I may channel Fermat, the sign was a bit too narrow...)#mayday #protest #madisonwi #50501movement
(DIR) Post #AyiUNIJvX2Ih41rzcm by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2025-09-27T12:00:17Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Achievement unlocked: I have ridden a bicycle with square wheels. This is from earlier this week at our department's "block party" for our majors and interested students.I'm proud (and a bit intimidated TBH) to work in the same department as Stan Wagon, the mathematician who made the square wheel bike -- and the surface on which you can ride it. https://stanwagon.com/https://www.macalester.edu/mscs/multimedia/squarewheeledbike/squarewheelbike/#HeyMac #macalestercollege #bicycling #catenary
(DIR) Post #AyqCN8iJ0PnfMIjEjg by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2025-10-03T18:52:22Z
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@futurebird Catenaries -- hyperbolic cosine, actually: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/riding-square-wheels
(DIR) Post #B2ZyTevgeilRT8IGwa by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2026-01-23T12:36:23Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
RE: https://graz.social/@publicvoit/115944406944516221I use emacs *and* vim...and I also use a cargo bike *and* a regular bike...I love this analogy.I might also compare vim to a fixed-gear bike; riding a fixed-gear bike is a bit different than a regular bike, since you have to learn how to use the pedals for braking and so on. That seems analogous to vim being modal, where most editors aren't.(And yes, I do have a fixed gear bike. Like vim, it is small, fast, and weird to use if you're not used to it...)
(DIR) Post #B4Zn3j8OCBDe7mO3TE by ddrake@mathstodon.xyz
2026-03-24T00:43:10Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
Just discovered espanso, a snippet expander:https://espanso.org/It's all configured with regular YAML files, works perfectly on Linux and macOS. It's super easy to use and really nice -- I do :shrug and get 🤷. I was grading last week and leaving feedback comments and it was nice to automate the common ones I used frequently.The expansions can get output from shell commands, so in principle you can make basically arbitrarily complex expansions. It also supports input forms: you type the trigger, it pops up a form with input fields, and when you hit enter, it expands it with your inputs. I just used this to automate sending out emails to students returning feedback on an assignment.How is this tool not better-known? 🤔🫤 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯